In the past, rim blocks usually consisted only of fragrancing materials.
Refillable rim block dispensers were known but there was not a great need to provide them with child resistant closures. More recently, rim blocks containing bleaching agents have been put on the market, and the desirability of ensuring that any refillable dispensers are child resistant has increased. A number of refillable dispensers have been placed on the market in some countries. Thus one company markets a bleaching rim block in a dispenser with a catch released by pressing the end of the suspension hook into the cage. Other refillable dispensers on the market are not reliably child resistant.
Toilet blocks are relatively low cost products. They are used in dispensers which are attached to the rim of toilet bowls. The dispensers for reasons of cost are produced as a single plastics moulding which includes a hook and two body parts joined by a moulded hinge. Once the toilet block has been placed in the dispenser by the manufacturer, no one will wish to obtain access to the toilet block within the cage. Any need to open the dispenser will only arise in the case of refillable dispensers, when a replacement block will be inserted when the original block has been used.
Child-resistant packages based on containers with a hinged cover are known for other products such as medicines. In such containers, the user requires to obtain access to the container at relatively frequent intervals in order to remove the medicine within the container. Hinged containers for medicines in which catches on one part of the container engage with apertures on another part of the container are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,069. This discloses the use of two types of catch. Both types must be opened before the container itself can be opened. However, the catches are designed to be opened sequentially. The ability to open each set of catches in sequence simplifies the opening procedure, which is desirable for a container which is intended to opened frequently. Attempts to operate all the catches simultaneously are stated to be counter-productive. The parts which have to be manually operated are all catches, i.e., they are constituted by parts which interact to hold the container in the closed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,050 discloses a hinged child resistant pill box which has a pair of catches which hold the container closed. The box also has means which must be actuated before the catches can be released. However, the means consists of pivot pins running in slots. The catches are essentially bayonet-type catches. Rearward movement of the cover is normally prevented by the interaction of members 35 and 34.
When the body is flexed to release these catches to allow rearward movement, the member 35 is moved clear of slot 32 so allowing the cover to be pivoted. This system requires a complex hinge structure. Closing the container requires a first (rotary) movement to bring the top and bottom parts of the container together and a second (translational) movement to cause catches to engage to hold the container in a closed position. Such a complex closing operation does not appear to be suitable for use in producing relatively low cost products which are generally produced on automated filling lines. The container does not seem suitable for manufacture as a one piece moulding.
It has now been found that an improved child resistant dispenser for attachment of toilet bowls can be produced by a combination of a releasable catch to hold the dispenser closed and a locking means which must be actuated to allow the releasable catch to be released.